Chapter 37 Mysterious Taoist Priest Reads Faces

Yun Zhaoxue waved her hand casually, "A bunch of insignificant people, no need to take them to heart. Let's go to the Third Prince's residence."

The best is yet to come.

Red dates, "Yes!"

Two streets away from the Third Prince's residence, they bumped into the Emperor's entourage. The people, a sea of ​​black, knelt down, shouting, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Yun Zhaoxue shrank back into the corner, avoiding kneeling if possible.

The emperor, seated in his imperial carriage, waved his hand dismissively, "No need for formalities! Rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The people then rose to their feet.

Meanwhile, a group of people waiting on the next street to watch the emperor's procession and witness his holy countenance somehow started arguing about the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

Most people felt that the Prince of Zhenbei deserved to die, and that the rebels deserved to be killed by everyone.

A small number of people still remember that the Prince of Zhenbei fought in the north and south, drove out foreign enemies, and protected the peace of the Great Zhou territory and its people, and feel that the Prince of Zhenbei was wronged.

The two sides started arguing, and then they started fighting.

However, outnumbered, the few commoners who spoke well of the Prince of Zhenbei were beaten by the mob.

"Bang bang bang!!!"

"Slap slap slap!!!"

"What is your relationship with these traitors? How dare you whitewash them? How much money did you take from them, or are you their accomplice? Speak up, or I'll kill you."

“I didn’t take the money, so I’m not their accomplice. The Prince of Zhenbei is a good man; he was wronged.”

Do you have any evidence?

“I do. My elder brother was a member of the Xiao family army. After my brother died in battle, the court couldn’t provide any compensation. It was the Prince of Zhenbei who personally paid for the compensation for the families of the fallen soldiers. He was a hero who protected our Great Zhou. He must have been wronged.”

"The truth is out. He must have taken money to speak up for the Prince of Zhenbei. Kill this money-grubbing bastard."

Then came another flurry of kicks, "Bang bang bang!!!"

The man curled up like a shrimp, clutching his head in a protective posture, as if his internal organs were about to shift. He was in so much pain that he begged for mercy, "No, stop hitting me! Help! I won't say anything more, I promise! It hurts so much! I'm going to die! Stop hitting me..."

"As long as you say that the Prince of Zhenbei is a traitor who betrayed the country and deserves to die, we will let you go."

The man was kicked until he coughed up blood. "Pfft! Cough cough... I won't say anything, I'd rather die than say anything. They've been wronged."

"Turns out he's a stubborn mule. Let's beat him to death and kick him to death. He's siding with that traitor, so he's a traitor too, and he deserves to die."

"Bang bang bang!!!"

Then the crowd surrounded the people and kicked and punched them again. This time there were no cries of pain, and it was unclear whether the people inside were dead or alive.

He used all his strength in every punch and kick, with a ruthless intent to kill them.

While everyone was engrossed in watching the show, some people walked into the middle of the road and blocked it.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

The eunuch's distinctive hoarse voice reached everyone's ears.

The emperor, sitting on the dragon carriage, frowned and his eyes darkened. He rarely left the palace, yet he saw the common people fighting each other.

That's outrageous!!!

He silently made a mental note of Zhang Fuyin's actions.

The men, still kicking and stomping wildly, couldn't stop. People rushed to break up the fight, shouting, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! The Emperor is here..."

The men who were fighting immediately knelt down.

The Imperial Guards stepped forward, dragged out the few who had been shouting the loudest, and threw them onto the open ground for questioning.

He drew his knife and held it to their necks, demanding, "Speak! Why are you fighting?"

The leader's voice trembled, his knees shaking, and he almost wet himself in fear. "Your Majesty, this humble subject has been waiting by the roadside for a long time, hoping to catch a glimpse of Your Majesty's countenance."

Suddenly, they heard someone say that the Prince of Zhenbei was innocent. The commoners felt that he was also a traitor and collusion with the Prince, so they and a group of people beat them until they changed their story.

The Emperor feigned concern, saying, "Today is only the start of the joint trial. The court has not yet convicted the Prince of Zhenbei. Why do you all believe that the Prince of Zhenbei is a traitor? Do you have any evidence?"

The Prince of Zhenbei's mansion had achieved great merit and overshadowed the emperor. Once it lost power, it became the target of everyone's criticism, which was exactly what the emperor wanted to see.

He was pleased but did not show it on his face. In order to demonstrate that he was a wise ruler, he felt that he had to wait until the joint trial was over before sentencing the Prince of Zhenbei.

The man before him had already condemned the royal family. If he sided with this man, he would be seen by the world as a foolish ruler who listened to slander.

"This humble one has no evidence, it's just that everyone's saying it. There's no smoke without fire. The Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion must be colluding with the enemy and betraying the country." The man desperately tried to smear the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion, thinking he would be rewarded.

However, his reward came soon after.

The Emperor ordered, "Guards, throw this man into prison!"

The Emperor's actions are baffling.

Isn't the whole capital saying that Prince Zhengbei is colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, and that the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion is going to be raided, exiled, or beheaded?

Shouldn't they be credited for beating those who spoke up for the Prince's Mansion? Why were they imprisoned instead?

The man was terrified and frantically kowtowed on the ground, begging for mercy, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I know I'm guilty, I'll never dare to do it again! Your Majesty, please forgive me this time, Your Majesty..."

Yun Zhaoxue, observing the Emperor's expression through binoculars from a distant corner, thought to herself, "This damned emperor can't even suppress his smirk. Who is he trying to fool? He wants to be a wise ruler and be remembered in history? Dream on! He'll become the greatest tyrant of all time."

Hongzao naively believed that the Emperor was on the side of the Prince's Mansion, and happily said, "Princess, the Prince's Mansion is saved, the Heir Apparent is saved, the Emperor believes that the Prince's Mansion is innocent."

When the master suffers, the servants don't fare any better. Being sold off is the least of their worries; they might even be forced into military prostitution, a fate worse than death.

Zhuiying, however, poured cold water on her enthusiasm: "Don't be too happy yet!"

He was a bodyguard by Xiao Xuance's side and knew a lot.

If the Emperor trusted the Prince's Mansion, their prince's body wouldn't have been wrapped in a straw mat and buried somewhere without even a tombstone.

The late emperor's only crown prince died, leaving only Yun Zhaoxue's mother as her daughter. She was adopted by the current emperor from the imperial clan and later made crown prince.

The current emperor is narrow-minded and stubborn, and only believes the so-called 'evidence' he sees.

The emperor believed the conspiracy of treacherous villains and wanted to exterminate all loyal ministers and generals, which was even more hateful than the enemy, making them feel cold-hearted.

"Why?" Red Date asked, puzzled.

"Knowing too much is no good, so stop asking."

"Yes, Princess."

The Third Prince, along with his officials and guests, greeted the Emperor in front of the palace.

Seeing the imperial carriage approaching in the distance, the officials all flattered him, saying, "His Majesty's treatment of His Highness the Third Prince is truly extraordinary!"

Among the crowd, some people were saying, "The Emperor did not personally attend the weddings of the other princes, but the Third Prince is special to the Emperor."

"When Consort Xian was the most favored concubine, she passed away unexpectedly. The Emperor felt guilty towards her, so he gave this honor to His Highness the Third Prince."

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince, among others, were filled with envy upon hearing the people's words.

That damned third brother, all he did was lose his mother, right?

Other princes also lost their mothers, so why doesn't the Emperor favor them?

Father is so biased!

The Crown Prince could no longer conceal his anger.

At this moment, a Taoist priest holding a soul-summoning banner in the crowd stroked his long beard and said in a slow and unhurried voice, "This humble Taoist has traveled the world and today I see purple aura coming from the east in this direction. It turns out that it is imprinted on the two noble people. The Third Prince has the appearance of a dragon and the phoenix, and is born with the destiny of an emperor. He and the Third Prince's wife are born with the destiny of a phoenix. The dragon and phoenix sing in harmony, the destiny of heaven intersects, and the purple star shines on their destiny!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince's expression changed drastically. His gentle demeanor vanished, and a chilling killing intent, like a knife, flashed in his eyes as he swept towards the Taoist priest.

The Taoist priest met his gaze without surprise or fear. He placed his whisk on his bent arm, formed a Tai Chi mudra with the five fingers of his left hand in front of his chest, bowed deeply in his direction, then lowered his head and eyes, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.

The third prince gave his personal guard a look, and the guard nodded slightly and stepped back to arrest the person.